Protective apron



jufiy E6, 14. s. T. GREEN PROTECTIVE APRON Filed Sept. 22, 1944INVENTOR.

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Patented July 16, i946 PROTECTIVE APRON Samuel T. Green, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Picker X-Ray Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporationof New York Application September 22, 1944, Serial No. 555,277

2 Claims. (01. 250-108) This invention relates to protective aprons,such as are worn by operatives of X-ray apparatus for shielding the bodyagainst undesirable, harmful effect of X-rays.

One object of the invention is to provide an 5 to the side seams l3fandupto the shoulder seams improved protective shield or apron, of thech'ari l, is of the construction illustrated in Fig. 3. acter described,which is of simple construction It includes a shielding member I5, inthe form and of pleasing appearance; which provides maxof a single sheetor panel made'of plastic maimum X-ray protection and avoids leakagepaths terial, such as rubber, eithe natural y for stray ray effects;which is easy to apply to thetic, or any suitable rubber substitute,impregand remove from the body; which offers increased nated with orcontaining a material opaque to support for and distribution of theload; and X-rays, such as lead or lead oxides or other comwhich tends tohang close to the body when in pounds of lead. The thickness'of saidsheet and use. the proportion of opa'quing agent which it-con- Furtherobjects of the invention in part are tains determine the amount ofprotection against obvious and in part will appear more in detail theundesirabl X-rays, as will be readily underhereinafter. stood, and maybe whatever is desired. Said In the drawing, which represents onesuitable sheet is covered with or is enclosed in a ba or embodiment ofthe invention, Fig. l i a front envelope made of any suitable materialsuch as elevation, illustrating the apron or shield in positextilefabric. For example the bag or cover may tion on the wearer; consist ofinner and outer layers I6, I! madeof Fig. 2 is a rear perspective viewof the apron; stockinette material or a suitable plastic fabric Fig. 3is an enlarged perspective view, partly in or material, such asBeutonal. Around the edges section on the line 3-3, Fig. l; and of therubber sheet, the inner and outer cover Fig. 4 is a detail sectionalview on the line 44, plies may be secured together, as by stitching l8,Fig. 2. the rows of which may lie either outside the edges Protectiveaprons or shields of the kind h re of the rubber sheet, or closetogether just inside involved frequently are quite heavy, due to the ses o reduce the Possibility of p Paths lead content, sometimes weighingas much as fiffor stray X-rays, or at least to place them where teenpounds or more. As a general rule th are such rays become of little orno importance. Fig. supported on and fastened to the person with 3illustrates the latter arrangement, but exagstraps, being difficult ofapplication and removal gerated in proportions for purposesof'illustraand ofierlng paths for stray X-rays through the tion. Theenclosing bag plies may be either loose rivets or stitching where thestraps are attached or attached to the rubber sheet, as by cement or tothe rubber, and unnecessarily fatiguing the a vulcanizing operation.wearer by the concentration of a heavy weight The upper or body portionto of thegarment upon the narrow width of the supporting straps. alsoincludes two back wings l9, shown in Figs.

In the present shield or apron some of the ob- 2 and 4, each of whichmay include one, two or" jections to prior constructions for the purposemore plies of textile fabric suitably secured to have ben overcome by anarrangement as iollows: 40 the garment such as by the same stitches I BThe apron illustrated shields the person wearwhich fasten the cover tothe rubber sheet. The ing it from the neckline across the entire frontedges 20 of these wings, and the adjacent edges of the body anddownwardly to any desired exii of the body front provide arm holes,marked tent, such as to a level below the knees. It congenerally 22.This arrangement also provides sists, therefore, of an upper bodyportion, marked 5 relatively wide upwardly extending rear portionsgenerally Ii], and a lower skirt portion H, the 23'j0ined'to the frontbody portions alon relalatter of generally rectangular form, low enoughtively long shoulder seams 24,- which assists in to extend below theknees and Wide enough so distributing the weight of the garment overrelathat its vertical side edges I2 are at or a little tively wide areasat the shoulders and avoids behind the outside trouser Samsconcentrating it in narrow regions, as when nar- The upper bodyportion I0, generally speaking, row supporting straps or eordsareemployed. The resembles a sleeveless womans jumper open at back wingsl9, when the garment is in place on e the back and with the back yokeomitted. The the wearer, diverge upwardly, the usual back yoke frontpart of this jumper-like body serves, with portion being omitted, andthe lower portions of the skirt, as part of the X-ray shield, while the2 back portions, later to be described, provide means of support on andattachment to the wearer.

The; entire front of the garment, including the skirt II and the frontof the upper part It] out the Wings may be connected by tie bands25,

3 which usually are made long enough to bring around the waist, like abelt, for tying in the front.

The garment described is quite simple to apply to and remove from thewearer. In putting it on the arms are passed through the arm holes andthe weight of the garment is immediately supported upon and distributedover the shoulders, and is not hung around the neck. Indeed, because theshielding portion of the garment has extra width and has the wings I9fastened to it, the garment hangs fairly close to the wearer when hebends over, even without the tie straps 25, but when the latter areemployed the garment hugs the wearer closely and distributes the weightso that any of the usual working operations may be performed withoutundue fatigue.

All stitches are close to the edges of the various parts, and notconsiderably inwardly therefrom, as when straps are employed,necessitating rivets or strong stitches through the body of the sheetand far enough in to prevent tearing out.

The arrangement described also avoids X-ray leakage through suchopenings.

Further advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art.

What I claim is:

l. A sleeveless X-ray shield of generally apron form for use by X-rayoperatives, including a single sheet of rubber-like material loaded withheavy material opaque to X-rays, said sheet being of generallyrectangular shape with vertical side edges and of a size to completelyshield the body vertically from the neckline to approximately the kneesand horizontally outwardly to vertical lines beneath the arms, a textilefabric bag-like cover shaped to correspond with and enclosing saidsheet, said sheet and cover having laterally spaced top portions oneover each shoulder and each of substantially full shoulder width, andback wing members made of textile fabric having upper portions joined tothe spaced shoulder portions of the cover along relatively longhorizontal shoulder lines and lower portions joined to the verticaledges of the cover along the under-arm lines, the said back wing membershaving generally horizontal bottom edges and vertical edges which extenddiagonally downwardly and converge from the neck ends of the spacedshoulder portions of the cover to the ends of said bottom edges, wheresaid wings closely neighbor each other when the shield is in use, saidlower portions being provided with connecting means and lying entirelybeyond the area of the cover and sheet and being free to conform to andhug the body, whereby the heavy weight of the shield is distributed overthe full width of both shoulders and a substantial area of the lowerback.

2. A sleeveless X-ray shield of the character described in claim 1, inwhich said fabric cover and back wing members are secured to each otherand to said sheet by rows of stitches extending through said sheet, thecover therefor and the back wing members.

SAMUEL T. GREEN.

